Box toe blank conditioning machine



Jan. 7, 1958 Filed May 20; 1954 G. H. BUSHWAY BOX TOE BLANK CONDITIONING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet l GEORGE H. BUSHWAY Jan 7,1958 G. H. BUSHWAY BOX TOE BLANK CONDITIONING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fil ed May 20, 1954 .l loll. i. NWQNNNNNNK 1221993281213 GEORGE H BUSHWAY M1 MM v omveys I mm mm BOX TOE BLANK CONDITIONING MACHINE George H. Bushway, North Hampton, N. H., assignor' to Shh-Conditioner Inc., Hampton, N. H., a corporation of New Hampshire Application May 20, 1954, Serial No. 431,110

4 Claims. 01. 118*426) This invention relates to a machine for conditioning box toe blanks and the like. Box toe blanks that are to be used in shoe construction are impregnated with a self-hardening compound which adapts the blanks to be treated in a solvent to make them soft and pliable. The blanks as thus treated are built into shoes and thereafter harden in place to serve their toe protecting function. Various machines are known and employed for thus conditioning box toe blanks and the primary object of my invention resides in the production of an improved, simpler and more economical machine for efliciently performing this operation.

These and other features of my invention will be more readily understood and appreciated from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing in which- Fig. l is a plan view of a machine embodying my invention,

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section taken on line 33 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view like Fig. 2 but showing a modified construction.

The machine illustrated in Figs. 1-3 of the drawings comprises a metal housing including a supporting base 10, a conditioning chamber 12 and a supply chamber 14, the chambers being separated by a partition 15 having a liquid passage 16 therethrough. The chambers are adapted to hold a liquid solvent which is automatically maintained at a predetermined level in the chambers from a container 18 carrying a valve at 20 and supported by a gasket 22.

A shaft 23 rotatably mounted in the end walls 24 of the housing and disposed horizontally therein is driven in the direction indicated by a motor 25 through reduction gearing 26, the motor being mounted on the housing. A disk 28 is fixed to the shaft intermediately between the end walls and has a periphery 30 coaxial with the shaft. A plurality of sharp needle-like spurs 32 are mounted in spaced relation on and about the periphery 30, the spurs illustrated in the drawings being phonograph needles 32 secured in the disk by threaded studs 33. A blank engaging land 34 integral with the housing is disposed adjacent to and extends coaxially about the periphery 30 to provide a blank conducting channel therebetween and is spaced from the periphery a distance adapted to impale and maintain blanks on the spurs as they pass through the channel. The land is preferably grooved to provide a channel 36 for receiving the spurs.

The threaded studs 33 permit longitudinal adjustment of the pins 32 to compensate for the various thicknesses of the difierent types of blanks to be treated in the machine. For example, box toe blanks for babys shoes are very thin, while such blanks for mens shoes are much thicker. When operating on thin blanks the pins 32 are adjusted forwardly to a more advanced position niteci States Patent than when operating on relatively thick blanks. As thus positioned the pins penetrate the blanks very gently and carry them through the bath in and out of the machine. Thus the pin adjustment provides for penetrating the blanks most efiiciently and operating on blanks varying substantially in thickness. The channel 36 provides clearance for the pins when operating on thin blanks as illustrated in Fig. 3 and, while the channel 36 would not be necessary when operating on thick blanks, the provision of the channel renders the machine adaptable for blanks of all thicknesses.

The housing includes a cover 38 pivoted at 40 and adapted in closed position to enclose the conditioning chamber 12 and a gate 42 pivoted at 44 to the cover normally completes the chamber closure. A blank feeding slot 46 is provided through the cover and can be closed by a pivoted lid 48. A flexible sheet 50 afiixed at 52 to the cover at one side of and beneath the slot resiliently cooperates with the wall 15 at the other side of the slot for frictionally holding and permitting the feeding of blanks 54 downwardly therebeneath to the disk.

When the machine is in operation the cover is closed and the disk is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow. Blanks S4 to be treated are fed downwardly beneath the sheet 5 0 where they are engaged by the spurs 32 and drawn along by the rotating disk. As each blank enters the land 34 the spurs pierce through the blank and impale it upon a plurality of spurs. The blank is thus maintained in alignment on the spurs by the land and is supported against lateral shifting movement during its passage through the treating bath.

Two stripper plates respectively mounted on the two end walls 24 extend therefrom toward and adjacent to the disk, each plate embodying a portion 56 clamped tightly against its end wall by a screw 57 and a thumb screw 58 and a portion. 60 extending toward and adjacent to the disk and positioned to strip the blanks from the spurs and periphery 30. The blanks thereupon pass outwardly through an opening at 61 to a receiving platform 62, each outwardly moving blank pivoting the gate 42 outwardly which thereupon wipes the top surface of the blank and aids in conducting it flatly onto the platform as illustrated in Fig. 2. The threaded portion of each thumb screw 58 passes through an enlarged hole 64 in the housing whereby the strippers can be adjusted about the screws 57 to accommodate blanks of different thickness and character.

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated a modified construction in which parts corresponding to those in Figs. 1-3 are indicated by like reference characters primed. In this construction the shaft and disk are rotated in the opposite direction as indicated by the arrow and the land 34' extends substantially around the shaft. The blanks are fed in at 70 and resilient wiper blades 72 and 74, disposed along the periphery at both sides of the disk and inwardly and outwardly of the cylindrical plane of the periphery, are arranged to wipe the bath liquid from the inner and outer surfaces of the blank when it leaves the bath. Plates 60' are disposed to strip the blanks from the disk adjacent to the blank exit opening at 76. It is noted that both forms of the invention employ a disk for conducting the blanks through the bath. The disk is fixed to the shaft intermediately between the end walls of the tank thereby leaving the blank free at both sides of the disk to be fully and freely contacted at both faces by the bath.

Having thus disclosed my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A machine for conditioning box toe blanks and the like, comprising a housing providing a liquid-holding chamber therein, a shaft rotatably supported in opposite walls of the housing and disposed horizontally through the chamber, a member fixed to the shaft between and spaced from said walls and having a periphery disposed concentrically of the shaft, a plurality of pins disposed in circumferentially spaced bores in the member and having sharp outer ends projecting outwardly from its periphery, means providing a blank engaging land disposed closely adjacent to and extending arcuately and concentrically about the portion of said periphery which is below said shaft and providing a channel between the land and periphery through the bottom liquid-containing portion of the chamber, the housing walls of the chamber extending closely about the periphery of the member and having a blank feeding slot through one of said housing walls at and forwardly of one end of the channel and a blank ejecting slot through one of the housing walls at and rearwardly of the other end of the channel, the land being disposed directly to receive blanks fed into the chamber through the feeding slot, to impale the blanks on said pins and to maintain the blanks on the pins during passage thereof into and through the channel upon rotation of the member through the liquid from the feeding slot toward the ejecting slot and said rotation of the member being disposed directly to eject the blanks outwardly through the ejecting slot, and fixed means for stripping the blanks from the pins adjacent to and directing them outwardly through the ejecting slot.

2. A machine for conditioning box toe blanks and the like, comprising a housing providing a liquid-holding chamber therein, a partition dividing the chamber into a reservoir at one side thereof and a conditioning chamber at the other side, the partition having a liquid passage through its bottom portion between the reservoir and conditioning chamber, a shaft rotatably supported in opposite Walls of the housing and disposed horizontally through the conditioning chamber, a member fixed to the shaft between and spaced from said walls and having a periphery disposed concentrically of the shaft, a plurality of pins disposed in circumferentially spaced bores in the member and having sharp outer ends projecting outwardly from its periphery, means providing a blank engaging land disposed closely adjacent to and extending arcuately and concentrically about the portion of said periphery which is below said shaft and providing a channel between the land and periphery through the bottom liquid-containing portion of the conditioning chamber, the housing and partition extending closely about the periphery of the member and the housing having a blank feeding slot therethrough directly adjacent to the conditioning chamber face of the partition at and forwardly of one end of the channel and a blank ejecting slot therethrough at and rearwardly of the other end of the channeL'the land being disposed directly to receive blanks fed into the conditioning chamber through the feeding slot, to impale the blanks on said pins and to maintain the blanks on the pins during passage thereof into and through the channel upon rotation of the member through the liquid from the feeding slot toward the ejecting slot and said rotation of the member being disposed directly to eject the blanks outwardly through the ejecting slot, and fixed means for stripping the blanks from the pins adjacent to and directing them outwardly through the ejecting slot.

3. A machine for conditioning box toe blanks and the like, comprising a housing providing a liquid-holding chamber therein, a shaft rotatably supported in opposite walls of the housing and disposed horizontally through the chamber, a member fixed to the shaft between and spaced from said walls and having a periphery disposed concentrically of the shaft, a plurality of pins disposed and longitudinally adjustable in circumferentially spaced bores in the member and having sharp outer ends projecting outwardly from its periphery, studs threaded into the member at one lateral face thereof for securing the pins in adjusted position, means providing a blank engaging land disposed closely adjacent to and extending arcuately and concentrically about the portion of said periphery which is below said shaft and providing a channel between the land and periphery through the bottom liquidcontaining portion of the chamber, the housing walls of the chamber extending closely about the periphery of the member and having a blank feeding slot through one of said housing walls at and forwardly of one end of the channel and a blank ejecting slot through one of the housing walls at and rearwardly of the other end of the channel, the land being disposed directly to receive blanks fed into the chamber through the feeding slot, to impale the blanks on said pins and to maintain the blanks on the pins during passage thereof into and through the channel upon rotation of the member through the liquid from the feeding slot toward the ejecting slot and said rotation of the member being disposed directly to eject the blanks outwardly through the ejecting slot, and fixed means for stripping the blanks from the pins adjacent to and directing them outwardly through the ejecting slot.

4. The machine defined in claim 3 in which said member is a disk.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,895,524 Schoenky Jan. 31, 1933 1,927,954 Schoenky Sept. 26, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS 669,855 Great Britain Apr. 9, 1952 

